Soulforge Legacy Series

“Oh, you just have to try this one on.” Of course the first thing the two of them would pass to me would be a black bra. Though, could it even be considered a bra when it was little more than a thin mesh with a few straps? Still, I humored them, if only so we could get this done and over with.

I avoided looking at the mirror, let alone taking a look down for as long as I could while I tried to get the damned thing on. Unfortunately, after five fumbling attempts to get the hooks into position, I had to ask for help.

“How in the hell do I get these things attached?” Okay, so my tone was a bit sharp. While I might have been allowing them to dress me, that didn’t mean I was going to fake liking it.

Ginger, the brat, didn’t hesitate to open the curtain between me and the changing room area. An area that was, thankfully, blocked from view thanks to a small hallway and a single, sharp corner. The space was likely designed this way for this exact reason.

To my surprise and annoyance, both of the girls laughed at me. “Do the hooks up front, then rotate the whole thing before slipping your arms into the straps.” I wanted to slap myself over how obvious that was.

With some effort, I managed to get the bra back off before doing as she instructed. Within a minute, the bra was on and in place. While I didn’t know how it looked, I had conflicted feelings over how it seemed to press down on both in such a way that they were slightly elevated.

“Eh,” the older woman poked her head in at just that moment, likely to check out what had caused the two girls to laugh. “That isn’t quite right. Give the gold one a try.”

“Good idea.” The other woman, whose name I never did get, said as she raced past the old woman. She returned within a moment with three similar bras. With a flick, she tossed one made of a rich gold material. While it felt like fabric, the weight caught me off guard.

With a deft flick of my hand, I closed the curtain. Six hooks later, I had the bra on. But instead of showing the two of them, I wanted to ask for a different one. Something about this one just pinched in all of the worst spots. Especially right in front of the armpit.

Before I could decide, Ginger once again threw the curtain open. Before she could say anything, I demanded an answer from her. “What is with you just opening the curtain? Did it occur to you that I might be naked and that I don’t want to show anyone anything?”

She looked a bit taken aback by my words for some reason, which allowed the other girl to step in, albeit not with anything that helped their cause. “It isn’t anything we haven’t seen before. Hell, there was this one time…”

A glare from Ginger shut her up before she said something too stupid about a customer. When she focused back on me, her expression had softened. “My brother told me how you reacted to the changes, and I just thought…” Her voice trailed off for a second as she tried to come up with something. “I don’t know. That it would be easier for you to handle if I acted like it was no big deal?”

The employee scoffed. “So what, she lost some weight or something in addition to changing species?” Her tone shifted slightly to something more derisive. “She should be proud that her humanity managed to stop the changes and that she only has a few features unique to the beasts. I mean, imagine being forced to go full animal every once in a while. If that happened to me, I would kill myself.”

Ginger turned into a blur of copper and gold. Before I could blink, she was across the room with the woman against the wall farthest from us. Her hands scrabbling against the one wrapped around her throat.

“You speak as though humanity is all that matter. That being other is tantamount to being lesser. That those who did lost something.” She pulled the woman close enough that their noses touched. “Not everyone feels that way. And like it or not, humanity is no longer alone. Even before the changes, humanity was but one species.”

“You don’t scare me.” The nice little employee act fell as she spat at Ginger. “It isn’t like death is permanent. Not here. And when I get back, I will have you arrested for attacking a citizen inside the city walls without cause. Even if you manage to get out of that, I am sure that my father will find something to get you for. Fuck, he can make something up for all I care. Just so long as anyone like you are put down like the animals you are.”

The sudden shift was jarring and reminded me that, even though the world was cleaner and more put together than Earth, the people from Earth were still just as jaded and dangerous as before. Only, now they had magic, and even death was no longer permanent.

Sadly, I wasn’t all that surprised by the fact that she was speciest. Humanity has had racism, classism, and all the other ways to separate one group from the other for as long as humans have existed. So, of course, some people would think that because they stayed human, they were pure or something. All of which the demons were using to stoke the flames of anger, resentment, and division.

But, honestly, it didn’t matter. None of that mattered to me at this moment. What mattered was Ginger and what she was doing. What she said and how she said it.

“Explain it to me.” her voice lost every bit of emotion and heat as she continued. “If humans are so much better, tell me how humans are so much better than every other race. Are they physically stronger? Even the elves are stronger than a human of the same level. Are they faster? Even a dwarf can outrun a human. Are they smarter? Name one GOBLIN that doesn’t put the average human to shame. Are they better at casting spells? Using mana?”

With one smooth motion, she lifted the woman up as high as she could as she finished. “Actually, there is one thing humans are better at. Fucking everything up.”

“STOP!” The old woman’s yell was tinged with mana that locked around my body as she raced into the room. Given how much Ginger looked to be straining, she was likely trying to kill the girl but found that she was unable to thanks to whatever the old woman was doing. ”What in the hell is going on here?!”

“I was taking out the trash.” Ginger managed through her clenched teeth.

“By killing my employee?”

“By killing a human supremacist.”

“Oh, Masha,” she shook her head. “What did you say this time?”

“Nothing but the truth.” Her voice came out a bit strained but not because of anything the old woman was doing. In fact, unlike the two of us, Masha seemed unaffected by whatever the old woman was doing. Not that it mattered as Ginger’s fingers were firmly clamped around her throat. “It isn’t my fault that the beasts…”

With a swipe of the old woman’s fingers, Masha shut up. Her other hand lifted to rub at the bridge of her nose. “What did I tell you when you were hired?” She seemed to wait a moment for the girl to answer before realizing that she was still silenced by whatever skill she was using.

Her hand flicked in the other direction and Masha answered her. Albeit all the while glaring down at her captor. “That you didn’t care about politics, just that I was a good worker.”

“And here I was hoping that you could at least be bothered to listen as much as you spouted off.” The old woman let out a deep sigh. “I said that I didn’t care about politics and that this was not a place for it. That you could do whatever you wanted outside but the moment you stepped through those doors you were to leave all that outside.”

“And let the beasts and monsters get whatever they want? Like they always do? Who knows what they will take next, what laws they will enact if we don’t stop them now.” In a single swift move, Masha pulled a blade out of nowhere, likely her storage. Her blade flashed as she twirled it around Ginger’s arm.

When she finally stopped, I thought she had missed or that she had been unable to do any damage, but a heartbeat later, the skin parted and blood erupted from each cut. Likely a skill, albeit a macabre one, as cuts didn’t do that. Not unless you hit an artery. Even then, the blood came in spurts, not a continuous wave.

The blood acted as a lubricant as Ginger’s fingers parted enough to allow her to slip free. But, instead of fleeing toward the door, Masha stalked toward me. Heart beating a mile a minute, I looked for somewhere to go, something I could do, yet whatever power the old woman was using felt impenetrable.

A deep sigh of resignation escaped the old woman as she flicked something. While the light glinted off of it, it didn’t look big enough to be a blade. From what I made out, it looked like something the size of a few hairs.

With a resounding thud, the object embedded itself into Masha’s head and she collapsed to the ground. A pair of thin needles just showing through her hair.

“I am sorry about that.” The old woman sounded exhausted. “She was always a nice girl. Helping others and everything. But something about this game twisted her. I had hoped it was just a phase, but I fear she is lost.” As she spoke, the bindings holding the two of us released.

Instead of saying thanks or anything else, I turned and rushed into the changing room. Using the curtain to block the dead from view. All the while thinking about just how easily the two of them had dealt with her.

My mind continued to go over everything I had seen and just how much weaker I was than even a shopkeeper. Even with all my training and foundation, I was little more than an ant to these people. And I would continue to be said ant until I found a way to train and grow.

Which meant figuring out how to deal with my body. Specifically these mounds of flesh that I can already see getting in the way of everything. Something I hadn't really noticed until the bra kept them in place. Honestly, how in the world do women deal with these things?

As I worked to get the golden bra off without getting any more blood on it than necessary, a familiar hand passed a different bra through the curtain. Where my current bra was gold with a few other accents, this one was a deep blue with lighter shades that made it almost look like the bra was made of some blue fire.

I hadn’t even put it on and I loved it. Let’s just hope it fits. If not, I would find one that did or get someone to modify some for me.